Posted on: Wednesday, November 24, 2004

No. 1 Rainbow Wahine win in 5

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

LOGAN, Utah — Hawai'i celebrated its first full day of being the top-ranked volleyball team in the country by bringing nothing to its match with fearless Utah State last night. Then, as they have all year, the Rainbow Wahine fought back with everything.

The 'Bows blocked out the Aggies and an awful start to remain unbeaten, 16-30, 26-30, 30-20, 30-21, 15-12. The bittersweet end of a disappointing USU season was watched by fewer than 500 in the 10,000-capacity Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The chosen few, about half of whom pulled for UH, nearly saw Utah State's biggest win since its 1978 AIAW championship.

Hawai'i (27-0) drove 2 hours to Logan before the match and played without benefit of practice and its head coach, with Dave Shoji back home for his father's memorial service. It was coming off an emotional Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship Sunday and playing a decimated Utah State (9-18) team that has lost five starters to injury during the season.

UH even admitted to "an uneasy feeling in your stomach" before the match. The 'Bows "guaranteed" it would be different tonight at 19th-ranked Utah. Last night, it all combined to make a fair fight that went the distance, for the sixth time in this remarkable saga of a season.

"We hit a lot of balls out of bounds, an ungodly number," UH associate coach Charlie Wade said. "We were just loose, let balls fall, didn't pass well, didn't do nothing. Not one person, in not one aspect of the game did we do well in Games 1 and 2."

From there it took the Rainbows at their resilient best to hold off the Aggies, who join the WAC next season.

"I asked Charlie if we scared him," said USU coach Burt Fuller, who was in Wade's wedding. "I think we did."

Hawai'i looked petrified for two games. The best that could be said about its serving was that it was never a weapon and it did not have an ace for the first time this season. Tara Hittle looked every bit the freshman and not at all like the WAC Freshman of the Year. Susie Boogaard hit negative for nearly three games

Teisa Fotu replaced Hittle for good after a 5-0 USU run cut UH's hard-earned Game 3 advantage to 18-15. Fotu finished three kills short of a rare triple-double and had a career-high 10 blocks — three fewer than she had in her UH career before last night.

Kari Gregory (11 blocks), who also did not start, and 5-foot-8 setter Kanoe Kamana'o (9) also had career highs as Hawai'i shattered its season high with 24 stuffs — 13 in a relentless fourth game.

Game 1 was the 'Bows' lowest point total since rally-scoring started in 2001. The team hit zero and could not stop Utah State's attack, which hit nearly .300 — more than 100 points over its average.

The Aggies rode their momentum to the first five points of Game 2. It began ominously when Victoria Prince, who had two hitting errors in the entire WAC Tournament last week, opened with her third of the night. She would finish with eight kills and hit .103 — more than 300 points below her average.

Utah State blew to a 16-7 lead before UH put together something that resembled an offense. Alicia Arnott anchored it, hitting .500 with five kills. She would finish with a match-high 20. The 'Bows finally tied it at 24, then missed their sixth serve. USU moved in for the kill, scoring six of the last eight points behind freshman Carolyn Forbush.

"We were playing so bad it was like come on," Wade said. "That wasn't the time to panic. It was no use kicking them while they were down. They knew. You could tell by looking at them."

Hawai'i finally found a rhythm in Game 3. Arnott knocked down another five kills and Gregory four more. UH took its first lead of the night at 8-7. That jump-started an 11-3 run. USU came back with five in a row, but the 'Bows countered with six straight on Ashley Watanabe's serving to go up 24-15.

In Game 4, the roof fell in for the Aggies. They got their first block since Game 1 but that was forgotten in a hail of Rainbow roofs. Fotu teamed with Gregory to stuff Forbush four straight times as UH built a 7-3 lead. USU could never close the gap because Hawai'i's block — Prince and Kamana'o added five stuffs each — would not let it.

The Aggies missed their first two serves in Game 5 and never led because they could not find an answer for Fotu, whose stabilizing influence was felt on defense and offense. Hawai'i broke from 7-all with three straight points. USU cut it to one twice — the last at 13-12. After a timeout, Arnott buried a ball down the line and Forbush was stuffed.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.